1.1. SUBJECT OF STUDY
Otorhinolaryngology is dedicated to diagnosis, treatment and prevention of upper respiratory tract and ear diseases; relationship between these diseases and internal organs pathology, as well as the nose, pharynx, larynx and ear physiology and pathology in relation to all body organs and systems.
Study of any subject, including otorhinolaryngology, is based on the knowledge of how and when the specialty emerged, what were the key milestones that shaped its current state, and what constitutes its substance nowadays.
Medical intelligence dating back to the ancient times does not distinguish between disciplines; it includes beginnings of otorhinolaryngology knowledge along with beginnings of other specialties, and mainly consists of practical therapeutic experience. Works by Hippocrates and his followers (460-377 BC) contain information on morphology, functions and pathology of upper respiratory tract and ear as known at that time. Later this knowledge was expanded in works by Celsus (1st century BC), Galen (1st-2nd century BC) and many other outstanding representatives of the Ancient World?s medicine. Since during the first five centuries of the Current Era there was no concept of morphology of the body and its individual organs, development of medicine was very slow-paced. The end of the Middle Age and peak of the Renaissance period was marked by progress in medicine, most notably in the field of human anatomy, and especially in the anatomy of nose, pharynx, larynx and ear. A. Vesalius (1514-1564) defined parts of the ear. B. Eustachi (1510-1574) was the first to describe the auditory ear tube (named after him), chorda tympani and two intra-aural muscles. Falloppio (1523-1562) delineated the facial nerve canal (which also bears his name), ear labyrinth and tympanic cavity. Duverney (1648-1730) detailed macrostructure of the ear and nature of its disorders. A. Valsalva (1666-1723) in his ?Treatise on the Human Ear? (1704) gave more insight into anatomy and anatomic patho-